Unexpected strike halts much of Helsinki bus traffic

Stoppage smaller than feared

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A protest strike by bus drivers of Helsingin Bussiliikenne (HelB), which is owned by the City of Helsinki and operates about 40 per cent of public buses in the Helsinki region, has led to the cancellation of services on a number of routes in Helsinki, as well as some in Espoo and Vantaa.
      The impact of the strike on Thursday morning’s services was less severe than predicted, with fewer drivers heeding the call to stay at home than the union would have liked. Originally HelB expected that it would be able to operate no more than a third of its departures, but it managed to get 249 of its 428 buses on the road. Originally between 130 and 150 HelB drivers were expected to report to work on Thursday, but about 100 more than that showed up.
     
The stoppage began at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, and was called in response to management plans to allow the existing labour contract to lapse at the end of the month, and to place its drivers under the contract terms of the Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT). Current drivers’ contracts, which expire at the end of May, were negotiated with JHL, the Trade Union for the Public and welfare Sectors, as well as JYTY, The Federation of Public and Private Sector Employees.
      JHL head of bargaining Håkan Ekström sees the move as a dumping of labour terms, leading to lower earnings and inconvenient working hours.
      News of the strike caught both passengers and drivers by surprise, and many completed their shifts on Thursday. Some were angry that the strike had been called by the union without consulting the drivers.
     
The protest action is set to continue throughout Thursday. Normal operations are to resume Friday morning. The most severe effects on Thursday will be on eastern parts of Helsinki.
      HelB is arranging schedules in such a way as to optimise the use of services that are available.
      HelB has a total of about 1,300 drivers on its payroll. These include 700 members of JHL and 300 members of JYTY.
     
HelB CEO Juha Hakavuori says that the arrangement will ease shift planning. He also says that the new contract will also raise drivers’ pay by 10-13.5 per cent.
      However, terms for annual holiday are less advantageous. Bus drivers are to accrue just five weeks of paid holiday time, whereas older drivers have been able to get more than seven weeks under the old contract.
      HelB head shop steward Hannu Toikkanen said that the drivers were most angered by the manner in which the change was communicated to them.
      “It was like a bolt of lightning out of the clear blue sky”, he said.


Links:
  JHL press release 29.4.2010: In Helsinki over 700 bus drivers protest employer´s unilateral "agreement shopping"
  JHL press release 28.4.2010: Urgent message delivered to the Helsinki bus drivers on Wednesday
  Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) website: Walkout by drivers of Helsingin Bussiliikenne Oy disrupts bus services in Helsinki

Helsingin Sanomat